S ummary of Plots on the Tothill Range 2012-2018 View towards the, Tothill Range SA Acknowledgments TERN gratefully acknowledges the owners of the Tothill Range Reserve, in particular John Smyth for his invaluable support and help in the project and for allowing access to the property. Thanks also to the many volunteers, in particular Irene Martín Forés, Tamara Ptter and Graeme Finlayson who helped to collect, curate and process the data and samples. Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................ 1 Accessing the Data ...................................................................................................................................................... 3 Point intercept data ........................................................................................................................................... 3 Plant collections ................................................................................................................................................. 3 Leaf tissue samples ............................................................................................................................................ 3 Site description information .............................................................................................................................. 3 Structural summary ........................................................................................................................................... 3 Leaf Area Index .................................................................................................................................................. 3 Basal area ........................................................................................................................................................... 3 Soil meta barcoding samples ............................................................................................................................. 4 3D photo panorama ........................................................................................................................................... 4 Regional Context ......................................................................................................................................................... 6 Uses of AusPlots Data from Tothill Range ................................................................................................................ 10 Assessing drought sensitivity in plants using stable carbon isotopes ............................................................. 10 Potential decoupling of plant and ant communities under climate change ................................................... 10 Opportunities for Integrated Ecological Analysis across Inland Australia with Standardised Data from Ausplots Rangelands ........................................................................................................................................ 10 Floristic and structural assessment of Australian rangeland vegetation with standardized plot based surveys ......................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Variation in chain-length of leaf wax n-alkanes in plants and soils across Australia....................................... 10 The Biomes of Australian Soil Environments ................................................................................................... 11 The extent of forest in dryland biomes ........................................................................................................... 11 Herbarium Collections ..................................................................................................................................... 11 For more information ............................................................................................................................................... 11 Appendices ............................................................................................................................................................... 12 Appendix 1. Plot locations ............................................................................................................................................ 12 Appendix 2. Point intercept data .................................................................................................................................. 13 Appendix 3. Substrate and growth form ...................................................................................................................... 14 Appendix 4. Structural Summary .................................................................................................................................. 15 Appendix 5. Plant collection ......................................................................................................................................... 16 Introduction Beginning in November 2012, the Terrestrial Ecosystems Research Network (TERN), undertook surveys on the Tothill Range, South Australia. The plot was revisited in 2018. The surveys involved vegetation and soils work following the AusPlots Rangelands methodology, with 1 plot completed. The plots are part of over 650 plots completed nationally. Figure 1 shows the TERN network, and Figure 2 shows the locations of the plots on the Tothill Range. This report provides a snapshot of some of the data which was collected during the survey work. A more detailed description of the methods used can be found online in our AusPlots Rangelands Survey Protocols Manual (White et al. 2012), available from our website www.AusPlots.org. Figure 1. TERN plot network 1 Figure 2. TERN AusPlots Rangelands plot location on the Tothill Range Topographic data used coutresy of the South Australian Government 2 Accessing the Data All of the data the TERN collects is freely available online through the AEKOS data portal at www.aekos.org.au. It can also be viewed on the Soils to Satellites website which contains a range of useful visualisations sourced from the Atlas of Living Australia. At http://www.soils2satellites.org.au/. Point intercept data The point intercept method is a straightforward method that is readily repeatable and requires little instruction to produce reliable plot information. It provides accurate benchmark data at each plot including substrate type and cover; as well as species structural information such as growth form, height, cover and abundance and population vertical structure. The demographic information produced at each plot can be compared spatially to indicate plot differences, and temporally to indicate change over time. Additionally, the cover data collected at each plot can be used to validate cover data extrapolated through remote sensing techniques. Plant collections Each species that is found within the plot has a herbarium grade sample taken. These have all been formally identified by the SA Herbarium. Much of the material is then lodged at the SA Herbarium or at the AusPlots facility in Adelaide. Leaf tissue samples All of the above samples also have leaf tissue samples taken. This involves placing leaf samples from each species into a cloth bag and drying them on silica desiccant. All of the dominant species have an extra 4 samples collected. These samples are available for use on application to TERN facility in Adelaide. They are able to be used for genetic analysis, isotopic composition and range of other uses. Site description information Contextual information is also collected at each plot. This includes measures of slope an aspect, surface strew and lithology, and information on the grazing and fire history of the site. The plots location is also recorded with a differential GPS and the plot corners and centres (with landholder permission) marked with a star picket. Structural summary Detailed structural summary information is also collected at each plot. When combined with the height and cover information from the point intercept data it enables the creation of structural description compatible with and NVIS level 5 description. Leaf Area Index In plots where a mid and/or upper canopy is present a measure of Leaf Area is recorded. The tool used is an LAI- 2200 and it captures LAI measurements in a range of canopies using one or two sensors attached to a single data logger (LI-COR 1990). The LAI data has a range of potential application such as studies of canopy growth, canopy productivity, woodland vigour, canopy fuel load, air pollution deposition, modelling insect defoliation, remote sensing, and the global carbon cycle. Basal area Basal area measurements are collected across plots where woody biomass is taller than 2 m. Basal area measurements provide information useful for calculating biomass and carbon levels and for structural studies. The wedge aperture, the length of string – 50 cm (and hence the distance from the eye and subsequent angle from the eye to the edges of the wedge aperture) and species count are all important in calculations. Algorithms developed for use with the basal wedge include the above data to calculate plant basal area on a per hectare basis even though species are counted outside the one hectare plot area. The method is plotless but used because it is based on the 3 concept of circles (trunks/basal area)